Lakers Malik Monk May Be Back Sooner Than Expected
With the Lakers finally able to string together some quality basketball, new adversity seems to have struck them. Not only the Lakers but the league as a whole, has been seeing a large number of players testing positive for COVID this month, 52 and counting. The league and players just agreed to stricter protocols, with daily testing and increased use of masks reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
With the Lakers out five players from COVID, the team is struggling to have enough depth to suit up against the Timberwolves on Friday.
Alas some good news on the COVID front for the Lakers. ESPN’s Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin reported that Malik Monk tested out of COVID protocols.
What probably happened was Monk was able to return two negative PCR tests within a 24-hour span. This is the only way for players to come back within the minimum 10-day requirement once entering the health and safety protocol. LeBron James was able to return within a week from health and safety protocols, when he consistently tested negative. It was later confirmed he had a false positive.
There is a chance Monk may suit up for Friday’s game. If he does return, the Lakers will be at 12 eligible players to compete in tomorrow’s game, with the addition of Isaiah Thomas via the hardship exception. For a game to be played, the league minimum for a team to compete in a game is eight players.
We will have a better idea soon as we get closer to tip off tomorrow. A lot of players who are currently in the health and safety protocols at the moment have been on the court with their teammates. Russell Westbrook, who is currently on the protocol, played over 40 minutes with James and the rest of his teammates just on Wednesday.
